Reunited Trio Hopes to Revive Glory Days

The three returning members of the San Clemente High girls’ 400 freestyle relay team that set a state record last year will swim together for the first time since their record-breaking effort in a meet today at Dana Hills.

Ari Gardner, last season’s anchor, graduated and is competing at the University of Minnesota. The high school season has been under way for more than a month, but because of injuries and other commitments, Sarah Jones, Stephanie Chambers and Kristen Caverly have yet to compete together since they teamed with Gardner to break Mission Viejo’s 10-year-old Division I state record of 3:28.56 with a time of 3:28.46 in the Southern Section finals last season.

Now, without Gardner, the veterans are looking to two freshmen, Lauren O’Neill and Stephanie Cadman, to fill the empty spot and help the team to another record-breaking season.

Caverly, a junior, ranked 44th in the world in the 200 individual medley and has qualified for the Olympic trials in the 200 breaststroke, has been unable to swim for more than three months because of tendinitis in her shoulder. She returned to the team two weeks ago, but then Jones, a junior, was unavailable, because she was competing at the Senior Nationals in Washington. Jones has qualified for the Olympic trials in the 50 freestyle.

“I’m excited to see where they are at,” Coach John Bandaruk said. “I wouldn’t put it past them to break their own record, but if they even get close, I’ll be ecstatic.”

Caverly likes the team’s chances, and is confident in either O’Neill or Cadman filling in for Gardner.

“They are both really good,” Caverly said. “If Sarah, Stephanie and I all improve our times, we’ll be as good as we were and we’ll have a good chance to do it again.”

That’s asking a lot.

In the record-breaking race, the girls took an unbelievable six seconds off their previous fastest time. Chambers, then a freshman, dropped two seconds off her personal best.

“That was such a huge moment,” Bandaruk said. “They were so pumped and they all clicked at the same time. To have all four swimmers hit their best marks at the same time is tough to do.”

The team was so fired up, they also went home with the 200 freestyle relay title and Caverly took home the 200 individual medley title.

So, now it is up to O’Neill and Cadman to fight it out and earn the prized final position.

GEEHR-ING UP

The Foothill Swim Games begin Thursday and run through Saturday, with the top high school teams having their top swimmers back after the junior and senior nationals.

The event will mark the return of Newport Harbor’s Carly Geehr, one of the top swimmers in the nation. She has been recovering from a torn rotator cuff but was cleared by her doctor to compete this weekend.

Geehr, who swam the seventh-fastest 200-yard freestyle time in the nation last year, will compete in the breaststroke and backstroke events at Foothill.

The girls’ preliminaries begin at 3 p.m. on Thursday, with the boys’ to follow on Friday. The finals are Saturday at 3 p.m.

BRIGHT FUTURE

The Irvine High girls’ swim team won’t lack for talent over the next few years. Courtney Cashion and Diana MacManus, both eighth graders, are two of the youngest swimmers to qualify for last week’s senior nationals.

MacManus finished eighth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1-minute 3.45 seconds. Cashion finished 24th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.88.

Both will attend Irvine next year.

If you have an item or idea for the prep swimming report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at: chris.foster@latimes.com